News

Student Housing Goes Up in Price

So, we know all too well how expensive tuition fees are, but what’s the cost of renting a student house like these days? According to information published by Accommodation for Students, the best answer seems to be: “not as cheap as it was.”

In certain areas student housing is up by as much as 25% year-on-year, according to a recent Guardian article that referred to the annual, UK-wide table of rents published by Accommodation for Students. The information, which is based on more than 100,000 properties in 77 cities, also showed that the weekly rent of the average student has gone up from £67 in 2011 to £69 this year.

Okay, so that might not sound like much, but bear in mind that it’s only the average; if you’re heading off for your second year at university in Hull, for instance, you might be in for a bit of a shock. The rent there is up by a whopping 25%, from £48 a week to £60 a week.

Other notable increases occurred in Lancaster and Durham, which shot up by 24% and 20% respectively. Elsewhere, returning Oxbridge students will also notice a bit of a rise, as rent in Oxford goes up by 7%, and rent in Cambridge by 2%.

Simon Thompson, co-founder and director of Accommodation for Students, links the rise in house prices to university popularity. "A key factor in determining student rents is the desirability of attending some universities," he said. "That puts pressure on the accommodation available and, hence, the charging of higher rents. Winchester, Durham, Lancaster, Exeter and Newcastle come into this category."